Four CPU Coolers from Thermaltake Tested. Page 5

Today we are going to witness a breath-taking race among four processor air coolers from Thermaltake Company. The real air-cooling monsters – Big Typhoon, Silent Tower, PIPE101 Rev.2 and Sonic Tower - will compete for the title of the best CPU cooler from this manufacturer for the today’s most advanced processors. Let’s find out who the winner is.

Thanks to the convenient fasteners and to the heatsink being lifted up on the heat pipes, the Big Typhoon can be installed very quickly and without much trouble. It will suit especially well for mainboards that have many components around the CPU socket or those that have a large heatsink on the chipset’s North Bridge. The shape of the base and the enclosed fasteners permit to put this cooler on almost any mainboard, whatever component layout it may have. The only limitation may be the system case – anything smaller than a full-size ATX case will not do.

The system fitted into our Thermaltake Armor with ease. Well, this system case can surely accommodate any existing cooling system.

Subjectively, the Big Typhoon leaves a nice impression. Yes, it is large, but it has a very convenient fastening system and weighs little, and doesn’t practically create any problems during the installation. It should do well in our tests, considering the total of its characteristics.

Well, yes, the numbers are most impressive: a temperature of 63°C under full load is an excellent result for such a hot CPU! The idle temperature needs no comments – the processor is virtually cool. Bearing in mind that you cannot fry your CPU up with ordinary applications as two copies of CPU Burn do, we are absolutely sure that this cooler won’t let the fastest of today’s CPUs die from overheat even on a hot day in a room without an air conditioner. We are also sure about the Big Typhoon even if your computer is assembled in a system case of the classic design.

The noise from this cooler is almost inaudible in a classic system: 1300rpm isn’t as high a speed as to create any big noise, while the long heat pipes suppress all vibrations. When the system fans are halted, you can hear a low rumble of the cooler’s bearings. You can hush even this noise up by reducing the cooler speed to 1000-1100rpm: the noise vanishes completely at a minor loss in efficiency.

By the way, the Thermaltake Big Typhoon is a good long-term investment, besides being an excellent cooling solution. Even if the heat dissipation of processors keeps on growing up at the current rate, this cooler will most probably live through one or even two platform upgrades.

Our Verdict: Thermaltake Big Typhoon

Highs: Excellent cooling, easy fastening, almost silent operation

Lows: No drawbacks noticed

Conclusion: If you need an effective air cooler for any modern platform, this one is going to be an excellent choice.